September 28 - December 30, 2012

A mythical work, the Dream House is a sound and light installation created by La Monte Young, inventor of the concept of eternal music. The music moves the hanging mobiles, created by Marian Zazeela, in a barely perceptible way. For the listener, the experience is literally about immerging oneself in sound, observing its nuances. This is an experience conducive to reflection, whereupon the listener is as attentive to his/her inner being as he/she is to the music. Within this 500 m2 space, bathed in light and music, the visitor can enjoy unique sensations and an unusual experience of duration: everyone is invited to find their place in the work by sitting, or strolling at their own pace, appreciating the sound variations provoked by their own movements, however minimal these may be.

In 1998, macLYON invited Marian and La Monte to expose one of their Dream House sets (then belonging to the FNAC) in a final version in Lyon, on the museum’s third floor. The Lyon Dream House, as it is referred to by the artists, encompasses—according to Marian’s calculations, “a volume of 101,598 cubed feet of light”. It’s the biggest installation after the Harrison Street Building Dream House in New York. But “the Lyon house takes up 6,195 square feet whereas the New York one only takes up 4,900”1, she adds. Following this exhibition, at the request of the artists and in accordance with the FNAC, the work was deposited to the Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art “to the space that belongs to it”, according to La Monte Young. The piece entered the museum’s collection, under the inventory number 2007.12.5. The Lyon Dream House , combining sound, space and light, contains all of the terms or concepts common to Marian and La Monte’s collaborative work.